Great news… Loaiza DFA’d. Nice use of $7+ Million, Ned. At least Ned’s learning and willing to admit a mistake and drop dead weight from the club. Hopefully Nomar + Sweeney can suffer the same fate.
Oh yeah, Kershaw getting his first start is great too.
I’m gonna try and get tickets for tomorrow.

Loaiza DFA is the correct decision, but there should be more to follow. Sweeney definitely needs to be DFA’d as well – he is past all usefulness. Ideally I’d like to see the same for Nomar, but as long as he remains on the DL, it’s not an issue. It is imperative that Jones be put on the DL and forced to have that surgery NOW. Once that is done, put him on a combination of weight loss and rehab program, and he may be of some productive use later in the season. Otherwise he is just taking up space and giving Torre an excuse to try to use him when it doesn’t make any sense.

Whatever the outcome, it will be exciting to see Kershaw up with the big club. I think his use in Jaxville was ludicrous with the micromanaging from LA as to each inning that he’s pitched. I don’t want him to get hurt, and leaving him anywhere near Conte is a major risk. If he is the genuine article, now’s the time to let him show it and stretch his pitching time in accordance with his stamina. Torre should have some experience with doing that. Good luck with your debut, KERSHAW. We look forward to your Dodger future.

Yeah, the Dodgers definitely have dead weight on their roster, and Loaiza was one of them. I’m thrilled they got rid of him. After last night’s debacle, no, I don’t believe Jones should be DFA’d (yet) but they definitely need to put him on the DL or something. If he’s hurt, put him on the DL. Maybe the lengthy time away from baseball will help; it certainly couldn’t hurt! Last night was atrocious. I’m thrilled they’re starting Clayton (better here in LA than in Chicago). I just hope and pray that they don’t rush him, the way they rushed Edwin Jackson. And yes, as soon as I got that e-mail from the Dodgers saying that Clayton is pitching on Sunday, I bought my tickets right away! I’ve gotta see this kid in person!

I’ll echo the sentiments on the calling up of Kershaw and the eating of Loaiza’s contract. They didn’t have an innings limit on Kersh as much as a pitch count. When he hit 65, he was gone even if it was in the middle of an inning. I’ve got my DVR all set for tomorrow. No matter what happens, it’ll be exciting. It might even be historic if his career takes off, but let’s try to keep the expectations down on this poor kid. He’s gonna have his highs and lows and there’s such a huge learning curve for him. It’s going to be fun watching him compete and hopefully grow into a fine player for the Dodgers for years to come. Welcome Clayton, your arrival is the most anticipated that I can recall in a long, long time.

I think that Joe’s use of Jones in that spot last night was his attempt at showing confidence in him, hoping to start something. I agree with bigkace last night – his at bats are like Groundhog Day, especially from RH pitching. Falling behind then the 2 strike low and away curve out of the zone. As Chicky used to say, you could call it with braille. Putting him on the DL makes all the sense in the world for two reasons: his physical health as well as mental.

Time for that piano to fall on Sweeney. The PVL club is starting to shrink. Keep it up, Ned. You just might save your job.

I’m glad to see that Loaiza is gone but I have mixed feelings about Kershaw being called up. I share everyone’s anticipation of his arrival in the big leagues but I question whether he has the stamina to be a consistent force right now. The last thing we need is another starter who can’t give us a consistently solid 6 or 7 innings each start. If my doubts prove to be groundless, nobody will be happier than me. Good luck, Clayton.

-All of a sudden Pierre’s OBP is creeping into that 345 area. 203 /.261/.219/.480 with 7 runs scored in 16 games at leadoff for Pierre. He needs to be replaced.

Not only did we know Jones would make out, but we knew how he would. Now that’s a whole new low. Seriously he is hitting .030/.214/.030/.245with RISP in 33 trys. The 33rd being a 2 out game winning situation that apparently Torre went all Harry Potter and was gonna cast a magic spell to make him hit but instead used the “repeat as previous 33 times” spell instead. No Mas. Dishes are done.

Kent. Out of clean up. I am sorry that they are all vets, but it’s almost June. Were giving games away. He is hitting .228. with a .276 obp. his OPS is 15 points lower than my hero Juan Pierre. Yes you read that right. Juan Pierre.

This is another year where better players are sitting (or in AAA) while we hover around .500.

I’m happy about Kershaw and scared all at the same time. I’m happy for obvious reasons; the same reason everyone’s excited. I hope he’s ready. I have no confidence in Colletti to do the right thing even though it makes sense. Is that scary or what. Half of me feels that because Ned made the decision to bring him up that it’ll automatically turn into a disaster. I don’t like feeling that way but Ned’s got the Midas touch. Only instead of turning to gold, everything he touches turns into horse $#!+ instead. I don’t believe it’ll happen in this instance. I trust Logan White and I know he wouldn’t give his blessing if Kershaw couldn’t contribute. I think Ned knows he’s on the hot seat and he’ll do anything to save his job at this point. If Kersh performs well Ned looks like a daisy; a daisy that smells like horse manure.
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BTW-DodgerEric, thanks for the support on the previous post. I was so irate that Torre would bat Jones in that situation. Why, with a runner on third and two out, only needing a single, would you pinch hit with a batter guaranteed to strike out? Maza has proven that he makes contact better than Jones does. The whiff machine proved everyone on this blog right. We gave up in a winable game last night. Unacceptable!😉

Anyone find that this is a curious time to bring Kersh up though? After all, Park and Kuo made a successful 5th starter. Neither Penney nor Lowe was DL’d. And its doubtful you get any more than 4-5 innings a start out of Kersh the first 3-4 times out. Feel something’s odd here that I can’t quite put my finger on.

OK, so you DFA Bloaiza and eat his few million, and option Brazobelly. Why then doesn’t Ned DFA Sweeney, Nomore and Bennett? (his is really unexplainable.) I don’t know if the current moves are really Ned learning, or if its that he stumbles into a right decision once in awhile.

Jones is just the worst piece of dung ballplayer I’ve ever seen. I’ve never hated a player before, not even JP, but I do Jones. JoJo’s an absolute fool to keep playing him as well. Ned’s an idiot for signing him and compounds it by either not DFAing his sorry keister, or at least putting him on the DL where he’s out of the way. How much more do we have to put up with here?

Ultimately it’s Ned who has to GO!
Frank, just fire the worthless F***!
It’ll cost you far less money than DFA’ing Bloaiza.
You have Logan White in place, and even Ng has more baseball sense than Ned (I don’t think she’s ever been with the Giants to become contaminated).

That Kent OPS stat is ugly. He hasn’t been a 4 type hitter for 2-3 years, but has been given that job by default( no other legitimate power hitters).
My Vote:
Furcal
Dewitt/ Ethier 2nd
Loney 3rd
Kemp 4th
Martin 5th.
Dewitt/ Ethier 6th
Kent 7th
Pierre 8th

I stayed up an extra hour last night listening to Jeff Kent explain what a humble young player he had been only to see JoJo send Druw up. Ugghh!!
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JoJo’s actual mistake came one at-bat earlier. With just DY, Maza, Ardoin, and Druw on the bench, he should have gone ahead and let Hu hit and then gone to DY. Hu is a better hitter than Maza, Ardoin, or Druw, and Hu’d already had two hits on the night. For those Hu (read “who”) would have preferred Maza based on his 5-for-11 major league performance up until now, Hu is 4-for-his-last-9.
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For those who have saved this monstrosity of a game on Tivo/DVR, compare DeWitt’s 9th inning strikeout with Druw’s in the same inning (albeit an hour later). DeWitt’s strikeout swing is a nice-looking swing that simply failed to connect. Druw’s is a flailing bailout which never had a chance to connect.
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I’m far from an expert on hitting — sadly I never made it out of the lowest level of Little League — but even I can see that Jones is consistently bailing out. Maybe he should try a different batting stance. For instance, if he opened up his stance, that would force him to step INTO the pitch instead of away from it as he is now doing. What do you ladies and gents think?

scurtis – the logical and prudent thing to do if Schmidt has anything to contribute in the way of starting is to trade Lowe at the deadline for 2-3 prospects. I’m still not sold on Park’s comeback to list him as a real starter, and Kuo just seems too fragile to be a regular starter. Still would be nice to jettison Lowe and get something for him other than a draft pick.

Agreed – Lowe isn’t going to take us anyplace, or he already would have in the last couple of years. I hope he has another couple of good outings, because it would drive up his value in a trade. We need to let him go at the trade deadline and get some prospects that will provide some future value. That would be the smart thing to do. Is it likely that Ned will part with him – not at all, because Ned is never proactive. His major personnel decisions have always been knee-jerk, and that’s the reason we are where we are.

If we’re in the race come the trade deadline, I would not trade Derek Lowe. He is historically a good second-half pitcher, and has performed pretty well in the post-season.
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On the other hand I would have no problem unloading Penny if we could get any return on him. He is a historically poor second-half pitcher, and has generally not pitched well in the post-season.

I agree ML. Especially about letting Hu hit for himself. Jones is just a pathetic waste. Hope he goes on the DL. We will be better off. Addition by subtraction. Also, we need Ferk back and leading off. Phew is not getting it done in the leadoff spot. I would bat Martin leadoff and Phew 9th, like LaRusa does it. Kemp should bat 3rd and if Marty isn’t leading off he should bat 5th or 6th. Actually, Kent should bat 6th or 7th and Martin bat cleanup. Of course for some dumb reason, Kent has to bat cleanup. Got to pamper the Hall of Fame baby. Need Penny to get it done tonight. GO DODGERS!!!

Thank god and greyhound Bloaiza’s gone. I agree with the above posters on most everything. DFA Sweeny when Nomore comes off the DL. Just use Nomore as a pinch hitter and sub once in awhile for Kent, Loney, and DeWitt. Not very often, once a week. I like the idea of trading Penny or Lowe at the deadline. Maybe we should be shopping them for a shortstop with some pop, high OBP, great defense, and health. I am very leary of signing Ferk with his back issues. Kent needs to sit period. DFA Bennett with Sweeny. Put the tub butt strikeout machine on the DL.

I would also still be trying to unload Pierre. He has gotten a reprieve with the Ferk injury and Jelly Roll and Kant stinking worse than him. I still don’t want him now or until 2011. 2000 freaking 11. How sickening is that thought. Excuse me, I have to go throw up!!!!!

Well the most perminant thing is the DFAing of Loaiza.
Brazoban’s pitches were flat again and I think he was the right pick to send right back down.
Good Luck with and to Clayton Kershaw.
GO DODGERS!!!

I need to get a few things off my chest regarding Jones and Eithier.
Jones’ bat last night was a joke. The catcher was setting up a target almost a foot off the plate . The pitches were coming and three or 4 inches outside and Jones was fouling them off. Then the catcher went out and talked to the pitcher and I am sure he told him that he really meant it. The next pitch — 8 inches outside — Andrew swung and missed.
I was concerned in the past that they were playing with Andre’s confidence with the benchings and they succeeded! He doesn’t know whether he’s coming and going now at the plate. He is now taking good pitches and swinging at bad ones — something he never did. It’s obvious that he is trying so hard to make something happen to win the approval of management, that it’s really affecting him. The poor guy looks totally lost. He is my favorite player and it really breaks my heart to see the way they have treated him over the last three years.

I agree RinTin. Ethier was in a great groove before the benching for a week. Andre is also a favorite of mine. I think he could develope into a great player if they play him everyday. .300 hitter with 20 homer power.

I would also get rid of Proctor and Kent. Kent is history. He used to be Mr. Clutch and can’t seem to do that any more. The Dodgers should trade for a solid defensive and offensive 2nd baseman. Until that happens Kent is just a liability at 2nd base. He should retire.

S.O.S, S.O.S. To The People who Write on the Our Los Angeles Dodger Website After Wins OR Loses. Arrogance has no place in The Future World Series Champions! Therefore if Our Los Angeles Team beats their opponent Three Times In A Row, we don’t have to get arrogant and mention sweep or brooms! Let’s just say we won without the extra arrogance! Yes, We want to win, but always,always, always respect your opponents! Cincinnatti Reds, if we were arrogant forgive us! We always intend True Sportsmanship, which is the Most Important Thing. As a big Dodger Family, I am saying this in Love and True Sportsmanship. Let us be Perfect, as our Heavenly Father is Perfect! Let our praise and cheering continue until Our Seventh World Series Championship is Won in 2008!

Look, there are plenty of things to complain about, but if they just designated Esteban Loazia for assignment and are calling up Clayton Kershaw, you have to think that management is getting it. This is a HUGE move. We’re on the hook for a big amount of salary, and are nevertheless going to blow it off in favor of a youth movement. Even if Kershaw ends up going back down this season (not impossible–though, if he pitches the way we think/hope he can, it’s unlikely), it’s a huge move.
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I’m going to the game tomorrow. Who’s coming?

IMO, Kent too needs to go at the deadline. No need to trade for a 2B if they’d just start giving LaRoche some playing time there at Vegas. There’s you’re power and defense (we’ll at least more D than Kent provides.) Flipping Kent ia a win-win-win situation – Kent gets to go to a contender for his last shot at a title; LaRoche becomes our power hitting 2B; and we get a prospect or two for for old Jeffy.

The sooner we unload the dead [horses] weight, two things happen. 1. We replace old vets with young talent. 2. We give them all 2/3 to 1/2 year to gain experience. The fact that we’re this close to AZ playing half a decent line-up means going to all youth isn’t throwing in the towel on this season, it actually gives us a better shot. How many on here believe Nomore, Kant, Swooney, CC®, BLowe and Pierre are going to lead us to victory? Name one of them that we can’t replace with a better younger player.

C’mon Ned, follow through all the way. Bloaiza was a good start. Don’t stop now. We might even write you a song…

Wow I have not posted or visited in a week and I could not remember my password…man getting old really blows!!! Great news about Loiaza, only 4 months late but they finally grabbed their kahunas and made the right decision…

Kershaw, boys you are in for a treat, his curveball is mesmerizing…I hope he comes out smoking!!!! I am excited, Kershaw, Billz now show the vets how it is done….Two power arms in the rotation, it has been a while since we have had that….Ok, relax Dodgerboy he is only 20, but he gets the juicies running!

The boys have been hanging tough and that is a good sign. Hopefully Furcal will be back soon and Kent will hit. If Kent does not hit, I would explore a trade to get Brian Roberts. He is a good OBP leadoff batter with speed a little pop….I am not sold on HU!

josh’s line up has maza and no kent.. but according to tony jackson, the lineup has been updated with kent back in it. apparently, kent came to the park expecting to play, so he is going to play. i wish that worked for all the other players.. all the other players, meaning, all the young players..

oh, and i will most definitely be there tomorrow rooting on the dodgers and clayton kershaw.. can’t wait to see the kid in person.. hope he doesn’t feel too much pressure, and he can just do what he does best..

Personally I think that Kent was hitting the ball real well last night, mostly right at somebody.
Contrary to some I feel we haven’t seen the last of him.
He will still be an asset.
The D’Bags lost and we have a chance to close the gap if Penny can show he’s his old self and the offense can handle Kyle Lohse.
LETS GO!!!!!!!!!

rintinjim,
In regards to Andre, I couldn’t agree with you more. He was one of my favorite players when he first came to the Dodgers, and now, since spring training, he has become my favorite. It’s kind of like the underdog syndrome – I want him to prove everybody wrong. I really thought this was going to be his year after beating out Pierre for the job – nothing was going to stop him from doing what I know he is capable of, but then all h*ll broke loose so to speak. I think he is in a no-win situation, and his only saving grace right now is that Andruw is not playing. He seemed to be doing pretty good until we started reading about Andruw’s possible return. I think the frustration showed pretty clearly after that second strickout last night because in his head he has got to be thinking, “now I’m going to be benched over a guy who is batting .165”. Anyhow, he is in the lineup tonight, and he definitely has the fans on his side – you can hear them on the tv loud and clear.
GO ANDRE AND GO DODGER BLUE!!!

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Dodgereric – got your message on previous thread, and yes, I still want those pictures. I will get you the info on how to get them to me – thanks!!!

I think Ethier is really going to show what he’s made of now. Without the pressure of having to hit .400 to stay in the starting lineup, he won’t press so hard. Andre just needs to slow down and play good solid baseball; he no longer has a dead horse breathing down his neck.

I can’t see anything wrong with Kent’s hitting.
He may have to change his approrach like going to right field or try to hit more on a line.
I hope he hasn’t lost his power like NOMAR did last year.
He’s hitting the ball hard but it’s not going anywhere.

We need Furcal back. Hu doesn’t anything except make outs 95% of the time. I give him some credit for last nights triple. I am sorry if my comments are late but the game is blacked out where I live and I can only watch on my computer.

I just hope people keep their expectations under control re: Kershaw. He was drafted only 2 years ago out of high school, hasan’t pitched a great deal as a professional, and is going to learn on the job at the big league level. I still think he could have benefited from a full year of starting every fifth day at AA or AAA. Having said that, I’m as excited as everyone else and looking forward to seeing how he does.

You’ve got that right, dnelson. Penny seems to have lost his command and the life off his fastball. 24 earned runs in 18 innings is graphic illustration of that fact. Lowe was better last night. Without a doubt, we need more from those two if we’re going to be in the hunt at the end of the season.

dnelson, I put the photos in my briefcase and will mail them from work when I get the info. Perhaps directly to your school would be a good idea. It will be a good-sized envelope. They include Jim Brewer, Don Drysdale, Jim Lefebvre, Ted Sizemore, Tommy Davis, Wes Parker, Ron Fairly, Saaaaaaandy Koufax, a shot of Maury Wills stealing his 104th (against the Giants, don’tcha know), and a team photo of the soon-to-be World Champions in 1965. You can see the tape marks on the back from when I had them on my walls as a kid.

Of course I want Kershaw to succeed but I am being open-minded about it. I don’t want him to struggle but…He is only 20 and pitching is more that just having a great curveball it’s also a mental game. Yes he showed great composure and maturity in spring training but….how will he conduct himself in pressure situations? Spring training is nothing like a late season pennant race. I hope for good things for Kershaw.

Eric,
I will send info as soon as the game is over. I am on my home computer, and it’s not able to multitask like my computer at school. I can’t do blogging and send e-mails at the same time, while on mlb.tv. sounds great – thanks!!

jegiboney, they’ve brought up Terry Tiffee from Vegas. He’ll PH. That’s about it for him, I think. I was just looking at his fielding and 3B is all he does. He started DHing when LaRoche started his Vegas stint. A couple of 1B appearances.

That’s OK jebiboney, you can get mad. I don’t think Torre has many options, and Hu is playing the position well.

We can expect Fercal back when Josh puts his name up top. He worries me. Out the last 12 games last year. Now he’s out since when, May 5th, right? I’ve known a few guys with bad backs like that, and it can be a scary thing.

Without Ferk, when we play a pretty good team, our offense tanks. Very disappointing. I agree Eric, the handling of LaRoche has me miffed. I’d like to see JoJo try something different tomorrow with the batting order. Kent probably play the day game after a night game so lead off Kemp and bat Marty cleanup. Geez, can’t do any worse. I hope to god we don’t see Bennett tomorrow. With Kersh going, I would certainly hope not. Tomorrow should be very exciting. Have fun those of you attending the game tomorrow. I’m sure you will. Eat a Dodger Dog and drink a brew for me please.

Penny actually pitched a very good 6 2/3 innngs. He just had an inexplicably bad 1/3rd of an inning with 2 outs in the 3rd.
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You know, that all started when he lost the strike zone after nicking the home plate umpire. Meanwhile, Penny has not been the same pitcher since he knocled out Kerwin Danley. His velocity seems the same–could it be mental?
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jegiboney–I understand a certain frustration with Hu. It’s not his fault. He’s supposed to be in AAA–he was in AA, but Tony Abreu is injured and they have no one else to play in Furcal’s place (the next best option in the system is Ivan DeJesus, who is in AA, after playing in A-Ball last year).
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For the LaRoche fans, Tiffee is coming up because he is basically a utility player. LaRoche is, right now, only a third baseman, and if he’s not going to start (and with DeWitt playing as well as he is, he’s not), and we need players who are versatile, and don’t want LaRoche sitting on a bench.
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I agree with everyone who thinks we need to start trying to use LaRoche or DeWitt at 2B to see if they can do it (I think DeWitt is the more likely option, long term–but as long as Andy is in the minors, why not experiment with it a little). But until the piano falls on Kent’s head (as it has with Nomar and Jones), we’re unlikely to sit Kent other than for a day here and there.

I think it’s going to be very hard for Kershaw to win his first game since he’s pitching against the Cardinals who apparently have our number.
Unless we luck out and Todd Wellermeyer or whoever pitches in a Cardinal uniform, male or female has a bad night.
Good Luck Kershaw!!!!!!

Let’s get positive about tomorrow. We’re due to start hitting. If we get a decent 5 out of Kershaw tomorrow, Park can pick up for him and get us to our short guys. The pitching has been good lately. If Lowe and Penny can build on the last two games, and if Billz and Kuroda can continue their good work of late, and if Kershaw can be ANYTHING like we all hope…….and if the piano can continue to hit the right people (don’t look up, Sweeney) maybe we can get something going.

This is going to be the first post for me this season. I have been reading the blog all season and waiting for the chance to address some of what’s being said on here.

First of all to the guy that said kent should sit and Tiffee should play…….are you high? Kent is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He will get his act together at the plate he ALWAYS does. Tiffee is a AAA hiitter, nothing more.
Second, lets all give thanks that Andruw went on the DL. Obviously the guy can’t hit right now whether its the fact that he wieghs 3 bills or his knee is shot. Now maybe Ethier can get some consistant playing time. He reminds me of a young Eric Karros. A guy who could turn out to be one of the most reliable and underrated players the Dodgers have ever had.

We all just need to be patient. Joe will find a way to get the most out of this lineup and at the end of the season the rest of the NL West will be looking up at the Dodgers

That seems like great advice, jhall. It’s not in my nature to do that and I was in the middle of responding to him when I actually thought better of it (I surprised myself). It dawned on me that one of the players that he was pumping up (Choi) was out of baseball. At least I think he is. Then I saw someone else say that very thing – just ignore him.

Sounds like fun Eric. Joey doesn’t post very often here. Probably just when he can’t get a rise on another blog. Plus, no one responds to or acknowledges his posts so he goes away for awhile. If he can’t get someone PO’d, he doesn’t stick around thank god.

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speaking of rides, my dad used to own a 38 ford (original), a 38 couple (candy apple red), and a 57 thunderbird (golden rod yellow). When I was a kid, we used to belong to the V8 car club and do tours all throughout California – alot of good memories with those classic cars – don’t get rid of those cars – my son can’t wait to drive the 68 mustang

Missing Jones’ bat, what a joke. LOL. I guess he’s referring to the 30 homer guy Ned thought he was getting. Maybe if he gets his knee fixed and loses some weight, he will contribute when he comes back. I can’t see him losing the weight while he is immobile and sitting around with nothing to do but eat.

Thanks jhall. I hope to post more now that the season is in full swing. I wanted to wait until I got a good look at the team before I started to rip them. I’ve been a Dodger fan for 30 years, so I’ve been through the good and bad. (mostly bad the last twenty years).
The team is on the right track and I believe they will win a championship within the next 3 years. It just kills me when people think that we can run a team full of first and second year players out there and win a pennant. It takes a mixture of young and old to win at this level.

Hope your right about a WS championship in the next 3 years. It’s been a long 20 years. I’ve been a Dodger fan for 43 years now. There have been some great teams and moments. We’ve never gone this long without at least winning a pennant or playoff series.

I’ll agree that we’re on the right track, if management would just trust their own players. I’ll also agree that a mixture of young and old is a great combination, they both have to contribute. And right now, who among the vet hitters are contributing?

At this point it looks like Andruw will go down as the worst FA signing of all time. And we all thought Pierre was bad. It’s amazing to me that Ned wasn’t able to draw better free agent talent to the best destination in the league.(weather etc.)
This is not easy to say but the Dodgers are’nt what they used to be. The history of the franchise is slipping away before our eyes and hopefully the brass can do something to stop the bleeding before it’s to late. Hey, at least FOX does’nt own the team anymore.

I agree the vets are not hitting right now. It’s really painful to watch most of them play (Jones, Bennet, Sweeny and Pierre most of the time). I believe Kent is the exception. The guy is going to hit. Who cares if he hits .240 as long as he drives in runs and i think he will. At least 80-90 rbi before it’s all said and done.

You’re probably right about Kent CD. I’d like to see them bat him lower in the order for now at least. 6th or 7th. He ain’t what he used to be. Time to come to that realization and move over for the more productive hitters.

Simers is OK. We could use more like him in the SportsMedia. They all spend so much time kissing *** that they don’t ask the hard questions. And when they do, and the subject squirms and doesn’t answer the question, the interviewer just lets it go. Simers won’t. That’s what I like about him. Yeah, he’ll go overboard at times, but most people take themselves too seriously anyway, especially sports heros.

I like his line, “Take away Bryant, and maybe the Lakers are the Dodgers”. Who is the last superstar the Dodgers had?

“I’ll say this about Andruw Jones: He has not hit near what anybody expected him to, including himself. But I’m very much assured that his presence here has made (Andre) Ethier and (Matt) Kemp better players – and even Juan Pierre is more selective,” Colletti said. “Andruw’s presence has created a competition that we hoped it would and give our young players a chance to be as good as they can be. I don’t think there’s any debate about that.”

To replace Jones on the roster, the Dodgers purchased the contract of former Minnesota Twins utilityman Terry Tiffee from triple-A Las Vegas and placed third baseman Nomar Garciaparra on the 60-day DL. Garciaparra, on the DL for the second time this season, has been sidelined since April 26 with a left calf strain.

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It may be creating some good competition for the outfielders, but it sure is stressing us out. I am not sure competition is the word as much as frustration. And if Colettti wants to call it competition, then Matt and Andre have won the competition.

pierreseastmeetswest – Right of course that Penny pitched a full 7. But my point is that his first 2 2/3rds were excellent, and his last 4 innings were excellent. It was just that spurt with 2 out in the third where he lost it. So, he had 6 2/3rds good inning, and 1/3rd of an inning that was inexplicably bad.
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I don’t really get it. His stuff was good, he was locating well, and almost everything was a ground ball. It’s just that third of an inning. If someone at the Stadium had been standing in line for a Dodger Dog in the top of the 3rd, they would not understand what was going on.
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We really need Penny to be the pitcher who had those 6 2/3rds good innings, and not that 1/3rd bad inning. Billingsley and Kershaw alone can’t do it.

cdlv has a point–it’s an interesting article by Simers, and oddly unlike him–accurate and analytical, rather than his usual quip/wit/cheap shot (whichever you consider it).
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But, it talks about the Dodgers need for a superstar on the day before the most anticipated major league debut of a player since . . . well, since the Dodgers moved here as far as I can tell. So maybe we’re about to see the Dodgers come back to the front soon.
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BTW–Vinny was talking about Kershaw’s debut and how it was more hyped than any he can remember, and he was a bit on awe of it. But, it seems to me that Vinny’s call of “Public Enemy Number One” has been a big contributing factor to the Kershaw legend. I mean, that’s a wicked curve ball, but if Matt Vasgergian had been behind the mic to call it, would it have the same impact?

I don’t think anyone is going to buy into Coletti’s spin on Andruw’s “presence here has made (Andre) Ethier and (Matt) Kemp better players”. That’s absurd. It’s entirely possible that they have been able to get some defensive assistance, but to say that his presence has made them better is insulting.

Last Dodger superstar? We’ve never had the thundering bat of a Bonds or Pujols or Arod. Piazza was just about to become one when the Fox imbeciles traded him away. Hershiser was a superstar for a season. Other than ’88, he was merely very good, not a superstar. Fernando in ’81. Gagne for 2-3 years. We’ve had a lot of very good players here, and a lot of star players. But a SUPERSTAR? Year in and year out? Reggie Jackson was a superstar. Tony Gwynn. Pete Rose. Johnny Bench.

Colletti the SCHMOOZER, courtesy of Simers in the Times – how appropriate, but that’s the kind of management people that McCourt likes around him to boost his own standing in the community. What a damn phony!

Think we have to remember that with this young (Kent excepted) line-up there are going to be growing pains hitting, and the last two nights were a pair of them. Now that we’ve got about 3/4 of what we wanted, we’ll need to have patience and let them have at it for a month or two. The bad part is that had we gone with this line-up from the start, we’d be mostly through this period. The potential’s certainly there if we hang tough and Ned doesn’t panic for another “impact” bat. If its a choice this year of following through with the youth movement or barely making the playoffs and going out in 3 as usual, I’ll take the youth movement.

I think what Easler meant to say was that Andruw’s bat was missing…

Ned of course is going to spin anything regarding “his” boys. Something like Dec.7th was a beautiful day in Hawaii except for, you know, that Pearl Harbor thing. Jones has been a disaster of epic proportions, greater even than a Cecil B. DeMille production.

Wow what a day..sunny 80 degrees in Maryland and Kershaw to pitch today…the Lakers in San Antonio…surrounded by family, who could ask for more…

Great news about Jones getting surgery maybe his mind will mend as well. There is still hope (I know I am an eternal optimist) that he can come back in July/August to be that power bat that we need. Nomar to the 60 day DL is one step away from being released. If Dewitt continues to shine and Tiffee is adequate as a fill in, no need for Nomar.

Any news on Furcal? I hope this is not a lingering injury the rest of the year. We are hanging tough but cannot go much longer with the lineup we are fielding unless Kent and Ethier start hitting with some pop….

I agree with Dodgereric the last superstar was Piazza and the morons of Fox went and screwed that up…but lets look at what we have…Martin, Kemp, Kershaw. Billz …there are 4 that have the potential to be superstars…

You guys with these classic cars are making me very envious..Go Dodgers!!!

In the meantime, while everybody is being called up, Maza, Tiffee, what’s the plan for LaRoche? Does his coming up depend entirely on DeWitt’s failing in his assignment? What if that does not happen? I’d hate to think that LaRoche is just biding time to be traded. This would be a good time to have him try out another role at AAA, be it second base or even the outfield. With his continuing high potential we should be opening up some versatility here, so that we can at least bring up his bat – shouldn’t take a great deal to replace the bats of either Nomore or the Curacao Cow. It does take some plan of action, however, and like any other planning, that’s always missing with the Dodger management – never proactive, only knee-jerk reactions.

Dodgereric–you bring up a very good point about the phrase “public enemy number 1.” In fact, I recall watching that game live and Vin was talking about Roy Campanella and how he referred to the curveball in general. It may have been because he knew Kershaw had a terriffic curveball–I don’t know if he mentioned that spefically or not, but it would not surprise me if it was in his mind.
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And of course, the moment when Kershaw threw it, Vinny’s reaction at seeing the pitch, and then his reference is unforgettable. And while Vinny did not coin the phrase, it’s classic Vinny that he would use a term that Roy Campanella used more than 50 years ago to describe a modern rookie.

Some interesting quotes came out of last night that won’t make today’s editions, but first an interesting note on Andy LaRoche not being recalled and Terry Tiffee getting the nod instead. The Dodgers want LaRoche to begin playing another position in the infield. Tiffee, meanwhile, had the type of versatility the team wanted since he could play both third base and first base, positions Nomar Garciaparra would have played before he got hurt. Tiffee’s ability to play the outfield as well helped his cause with Andruw Jones out, and as it happened, he only started playing the outfield to allow LaRoche to play third every day. Tiffee has prior service time and is leading the PCL with a .422 average and was also said to have taken it really well the last time he was passed up for a call-up.

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